Many had thought that, until Roberto Luongo was moved out of town, it would be night impossible to get Cory Schneider to agree to a pricey, but fair deal, that would buy out several of his UFA years. With Luongo’s status hanging over the entire situation, that Gillis managed to get Schneider under contract at all is a win. That the deal is reasonable on top of that is gravy.

Read past the jump for a summary of reactions from the media and around the blogosphere…

Let’s start with Daniel Wagner of Pass it to Bulis, who has high hopes for the Cory Schneider era, and moreover is happy to see Vancouver’s new starting goaltender rewarded for his patience – unlike some since traded prospects we know:

In the meantime, congratulations to Cory Schneider, who fully deserves the new deal after being patient and professional in his development with the Canucks. His first big money deal comes at the age of 26, after spending 3 years at Boston College, 3 more in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, and 2 years as a backup to Luongo. His patience should be used as an example to all the other prospects in the organization.

I sincerely hope that the fans have the same patience with Schneider, as they get to know him better as a player and realize that like every other star goaltender, he will have some bad games. I also hope that those bad games are few and far between and that none of them occur in the playoffs. Most of all, I hope that one day I see him raise the Stanley Cup over his head while wearing a Canucks jersey.

While Schneider’s EV SV% numbers have been very good over two seasons at .933 and .931, he has yet to play the regular, wear and tear minutes of an NHL starter. He has played very good when starting consecutive games and did so on a number of occasions this past season in Vancouver.

The only way this deal doesn’t work out is if Schneider spectacularly flames out and ends up being a below-average goaltender. If he continues to play like he has so far in his career as a regular starter, he’s a steal, but he also gives the Canucks some flexibility by not being locked up to a 12-year deal. If he regresses a tad and plays like an above-average goaltender as opposed to a spectacular one, he’s providing value, as his cap hit will no doubt be about the league average for goaltenders, and probably in the lower half for starters.

Luongo has a no-trade clause, so he’s able to determine his next destination; but it’s not a no-movement clause, so Gillis still has the nuclear option AHL demotion in his back pocket should Luongo decide to Heatley this thing up.

Luongo’s reaction to the news? He’s proud of the guy he’s helped to mentor over the past two years:

Well deserved, really happy for him. He will be a star in this league“@brandynbertrand:what do you think of Schneiders’ new contract?”

I’ve heard a few people say they would have liked a longer term. I, for one, am in love with it. It takes Schneider to a year past the Sedins’ contract, so if he deserves a payday after two years, Gillis can extend that deal when the Sedins become UFAs and likely won’t be making as much as they are now (if anyone takes a quasi-hometown discount it’s going to be the twins).